Why do many peoples have two names?
Presented by ClearTrust Free for classrooms, newsrooms and the curious.
Many peoples have two names because one is their own name for themselves, called an endonym, and the other was given by outsiders, called an exonym. Outsider names often came from neighbours, traders or colonial officials. Today many peoples ask to be known by their own name.
A people's own name often simply means 'the people' or 'human beings' in their language. Diné, Inuit and Ainu all carry this kind of meaning. Outsiders usually learned about a people from someone else first, and picked up that other group's word.
Some outside names are neutral. Others began as insults or are tied to a painful history. 'Eskimo' is rejected by Inuit in Canada and Greenland. 'Lapp' is offensive to the Sámi. 'Bushmen' is contested: many prefer 'San' or the name of their own group, such as Ju/'hoansi, though some individuals use 'Bushmen' for themselves.
'Indian' for the peoples of the Americas began with Columbus's mistaken belief that he had reached Asia. It remains in law and in some self-descriptions, but many people prefer 'Native American', 'First Nations' or, best of all, the name of their own nation.
Names also change officially. The Papago of Arizona are now the Tohono O'odham, and the Winnebago of Wisconsin are the Ho-Chunk. In both cases the people replaced an outside name with their own. When in doubt, check what a people's own organisations use.